Language
The languages of Musea. Aboleth Spoken by: Aboleth and other deep sea (aquatic) aberrations. This is the common parlance between most evil and deep sea creatures, especially aquatic aberrations, sirens, and sahuagin. Abyssal Spoken by: Demons and chaotic evil outsiders. The primary language of Demons and the Abyss, this dialect featured heavily in Ora’s Threnody. It is not based off of any real-world language, but is meant to emulate a tribal feel. “Abrido,” for example, is the word for Abyss. Proper pronunciation includes long, low, hard sounds. Lots of holding/rolling of syllables. Aklo Spoken by: Evil fey, Derro, and otherworldly monsters. This is the standard “Lovecraftian” language. Cthuhlu and his various servants speak this language. On the Material Plane it’s mostly used for dark incantations/spells, trading secret messages in cults, and sacred evil texts. Speaking it in a casual setting would get you a LOT of weird looks. Auran (Tongue of the Sky) Spoken by: Flying creatures and air-based creatures. The patron language of the now-extinct Irit, and the sacred language of the god Avani. Described as “soft-spoken and breathy” by Pathfinder. Boggards Spoken by: Boggards. I haven’t jumped the Septimus Heap shark quite yet, so at this point I have nothing to say about this language. Catspeak Spoken by: Cats. A secret language, it is impossible for a creature other than a feline to truly “learn” catspeak. A particularly powerful magical item called an Amulet of Catspeak exists, but how to craft them is unknown. They often appear through mysterious means, usually involving the influence of a Sphinx. Celestial Spoken by: Angels and other good outsiders. This is the language of angels, but in recent centuries it’s become popular on the Material Plane as a sign of status. “Oh, you know Celestial? How fancy. Very refined.” Chroma Spoken by: Shokucirri (and some other chromatic races) A secret language insofar as that most people can’t learn it; it’s like sign language, but communicated with body colors in addition to hand gestures. Only chameleonic species are capable of learning this language. Common Spoken by: Humans and other core races. Invented by the Elves when they met the first humans, this literal “common tongue” is meant as a language bridge between species. Knowing Common is expected and considered polite by most other species of the Material Plane. Most Outsider species either don’t know this language exists, or don’t care for it. If you’re looking for a source to make Common words, Latin or Germanic will do. Cyclops Spoken by: You guessed it. A derivative of the ancient language of giants, Cyclops is primarily spoken by large or larger monstrous humanoids. Darkish Spoken by: Dark folk (dark creepers, slayers, and stalkers). Exactly what it says on the tin. This language is called “Dark Folk” on Pathfinder, but that’s a dumb name for a language so I changed it. Draconic Spoken by: Dragons and reptilian humanoids. A very proud language for a very proud people. Many dragons won’t talk to you unless you speak Draconic. This language is older than your home plane, yeah? Show some respect. Draconic translator: http://draconic.twilightrealm.com/ The Draconic alphabet is a combination of ancient Khitan http://www.ancientscripts.com/khitan.html and Korean http://www.ancientscripts.com/korean.html scripts. Feel free to get creative/subjective with symbols. Drow Sign Language Used by: Drow. This is a secret language spoken primarily by drow spies and emissaries in order to trade information. As it is a secret language, it is impossible to learn from a book or classroom; it must be willingly taught to you by a drow. Because it is so difficult to learn, many drow will instinctively trust you if you begin signing to them. Druidic Spoken by: Druids. Another secret language, Druidic is a magical tongue tied to the mechanisms of nature. If a druid teaches this language to a non-druid, they immediately lose their Druid magic. This language has its own alphabet. If you’d like a derivative, let’s say... Twilight Princess Hylian. Dwarven Spoken by: Dwarves. Pretty self-explanatory. A good real life derivative is Russian. D’ziriak Spoken by: D’ziriak. The insectoid d’ziriak language consists of buzzes and chitters. It is an obscure one known to few outside their race. Elven Spoken by: Elves and other core races. The most well-known tongue of Musea, Elven goes through a variety of dialect changes depending on what region you’re in. Generally speaking, it’s similar to French and Welsh. Fetchling Spoken by: Kayals and other creatures from the dead Verse. The primary language of the kayals, this tongue is primarily spoken by the survivors of their race. Giant Spoken by: Cyclopes, ettins, giants, ogres, trolls, etc. A brutish, heavy language with multiple variants. Less common than Cyclops, but more prestigious. Gnoll Spoken by: Gnolls. Gnome Spoken by: Gnomes. Gnomes are cool. They have a kingdom. I made it finally. For a derivative, try Spanish. Goblin Spoken by: Bugbears, goblins, hobgoblins. Primarily spoken by goblins and hobgoblins, with some variation between the two. Grippli Spoken by: E̶l̶f̶i̶n̶ Grippli. Halfling Spoken by: Halflings. Hapanui Spoken by: Most, if not all, residents of the Majority. A vibrant, vowel-heavy language. The Common-equivalent for the Majority; Common is used very little there. Sounds like a mixture of Hawaiian and Japanese. Ignan (Tongue of Sands) Spoken by: Fire-based creatures. Although the sacred language of the goddess Divakara, in practice this tongue is more commonly associated with Avani due to his power over fire. As such, it’s also called the “Tongue of Fire.” Infernal Spoken by: Devils and lawful evil outsiders. This language is also a common favorite for evil or insane spirits and ghosts. If you want a derivative, try some backwards Latin. Lycan Spoken by: Wolves and werewolves. Like catspeak, this language normally cannot be spoken by humanoids, which effectively makes it a secret language. It is a common tongue shared between canines and werewolves. The only way to “learn” it is by becoming a werewolf. Maenad Spoken by: Maenads. Necril Spoken by: Undead. As the stories go, this very ancient language was created by Necromancers in order to keep their undead under control. Apparently teaching them Common gave them too much power, as it let them talk with outsiders. Nowadays Necril is used among most undead species. The language has a very unnatural sound, primarily consisting of guttural noises, clicks and screeches, and repetitive syllables and phonetic phrases. There’s usually a low concentration of vowels. If you want to make up a Necril word/name, open up a copy of the periodic table and start combining abbreviations until you get a word you like. I’m not kidding. Norliss Spoken by: Norals and other Dreamscar residents. The racial language of the Norals. It’s called Noral in Pathfinder, but that’s kind of boring, so. Orc Spoken by: Orcs and half-orcs. A very complex language with difficult pronunciation rules. For real-life derivatives, go to Hebrew and Romansh. Protean Spoken by: Proteans and chaotic outsiders. The language of Chaos, Protean has no rules. It is complex and constantly changing. There is currently very little understanding of it on the Material Plane. Seshat Spoken by: Desert species and desert-dwellers. The patron language of the Divaharrat and the primary language of the desert. This tongue is spoken in Panohsem nearly exclusively, and it’s difficult to get any service or respect there unless you can speak it yourself. For a derivative try Arabic or Persian, effendi. Sphinx Spoken by: Sphinges and particularly esteemed cats. This language is common in the desert, but Sphinges can take residence in any city -- usually without question due to their massive influence. Many Sphinges are vain and easily bored, and won’t pay any attention to you unless you can speak Sphinx. Or if you have a cat with you. Strix The primary language of the strix. Sylvan Spoken by: Centaurs, fey creatures, plant creatures, Kirin, and unicorns. The language of forests and fey, this is considered a magical and sacred language. Has been somewhat “adopted” as the racial language of the Kirin. Talan (Tongue of the Sea) Spoken by: Aquatic and water-based creatures. The patron language of mermaids, and the sacred language of the god Kuldata. (This is the language Aquan in Pathfinder; I just renamed it.) Tengu Spoken by: Tengu. The official language of the Tengu race. Terran (Tongue of Earth) Spoken by: Earth-based creatures. Considered a sacred language in respect to the goddess Medlayla and her territories. Tootega Spoken by: Arctic elves and creatures of the Kaldr. The language of the arctic, called the Expanse or the Kaldr, is Tootega. Like Seshat in the desert, it is considered respectful to speak Tootega in the Kaldr. For a real life derivative, the go-to is unsurprisingly Inuit. Treant Spoken by: Treants. Undercommon Spoken by: Drow, duergar, morlocks, svirfneblin. This language developed deep underground after the drow were banished from the surface by the elves. It is spoken by most species that live underground -- but not dwarves, they’ll find that suggestion offensive. Undercommon is superficially similar to Elven. For a real-life derivative, try Italian. Vegypygmy Used by: Vegypygmies. Like Drow Sign Language, this is not a spoken dialect as Vegypygmies can’t speak. It consists primarily of rhythmic taps, beats, and clicks. Voidling Spoken by: Anything in the void. Voidling is a secret language because the only way to learn it is by physically travelling to the Void, the multidimensional space between Planes. Due to the Void’s absence of form and magic, Voidling is the only language which can be spoken in the Void. In the Outer Planes, knowing how to speak Voidling is seen as a sign of extreme skill and experience. It is a difficult language to listen to, similar to Harry Potter’s Parseltongue but with a louder and harsher phonetic quality. Xeph Spoken by: Xeph. Zend Spoken by: Avestan. The language of the Avestan. Try Old Iranian, Old Persian, or Pashto for equivalents.